Bjelland and Dalsgaard in Denmark squad for crucial qualifiers

Brentford's pair of Danish defenders Andreas Bjelland and Henrik Dalsgaard have been selected for two campaign-defining 2018 World Cup Qualifiers early next month.

Åge Hareide's squad are third in Group E of UEFA's qualification First Round stage, level on points with Montenegro (16) and just three behind leaders Poland (19). They can't be caught by fourth-placed Romania (9) but have two matches to put themselves in with a chance of going to Russia in the summer of 2018.

First up, it's a trip to Montenegro on Thursday 5 October to face Montenegro, almost exactly a year to the day that the Danes lost 1-0 in the reverse fixture. A Denmark win would put the team into the play-off places and if Poland slip up against Armenia then it's anybody's group going into the final round of games.

That round includes Denmark at home to Romania, with Montenegro and Poland facing off against each other in Warsaw. The Danes drew 0-0 with Romania in November, while Poland were the victors the last time they met Montenegro. The second round of matches gets underway on Sunday 8 October.

Andreas is in search of his 26th Cap for his country, while Dalsgaard has seven in total. Two wins and Denmark have a huge chance of qualifying for next summer's tournament.